On whom is the zakat on a wife’s jewellery

Question

The husband is not an owner of the nisab, but the wife is an owner of the nisab because of her jewellery, as is generally the custom in our villages. In such a case, if the husband does not pay, and only the wife herself pays, will the obligation (wajib) remain on the husband?

Answer

Zakat is wajib only on the one who is an owner of the nisab. Since the woman is the owner of the jewellery, paying the zakat is wajib on the woman alone, not on the husband. In “Sharh Tanwir al-Absar” it is stated: [ar]وَسَبَبُهُ أَيْ سَبَبُ افْتِرَاضِهَا مِلْكُ نِصَابٍ حَوْلِيٍّ تَامٍّ[/ar] “Its cause, that is, the cause of its being made fard, is the ownership of a complete…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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